Many students have realized recently that our district buses have been extremely late. This may not be the driver’s fault, but many people are interested in why they are almost always late. 

One student had a few things to say when asked about their experiences of being a bus rider.

When Maya Arp (7th) was asked when the most recent time her bus was late she said, “So the most recent time was actually today (10/11/23). For my bus, it usually happens once or twice a month. I had to call my mom and she had to get out of bed to come and pick me up from the bus stop. I’m not sure how late the bus was because most of the kids at the stop had already gotten their own rides. The delay notification always says it’s going to be 15 or more minutes late, but it’s normally 20-30 minutes. I think that if I had not asked my parents to come drive me and the bus came late I probably wouldn’t get to school till 8:20.”

The student is missing class by being late. Maya’s bus is only late to where she will usually be 5-10 minutes late for school (sometimes more), but unfortunately, some other buses can come much later than just a few minutes.

“If the bus is late it usually just never comes. It might come but most of the time, thirty minutes later, it’s never just five minutes late. If I had waited for the bus, I would probably be late for class. Luckily for me, my parents will drive me if the bus is late. I think this would affect kids who have parents who are both at work and don’t have time to drive their kids,” Arp added.

Some kids whose guardians can’t drive them might have to walk to school, skip school, or ask another family member/neighbor to drive them. When the bus is late, it not only affects the student who is late, but the teacher who is teaching at the time, and other students in the class.